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Oct 13, 2011

UP CLOSE & PERSONAL: The Purpose Of Life? - Cathedral Man Don Justo

When we look back at our life and question ourselves...
where we are going, what are we doing and what this life is all about... etc,
we don’t really have a clear cut answer. We rationalize, we wonder and
sometimes we doubt if we are doing anything at all. Or we are just hollow and
empty shell trying to fill our existence with possessions, belongings,
ideologies, beliefs etc. Then you come across some people, who go beyond all
this, and dedicate their whole life into something as simple as making a full-fledged
cathedral, out of junk, working alone for almost 60 years... which stands at
131 Feet (40 Mts) tall in the suburbs of Madrid, Spain.

My younger brother Animesh with Don Justo, in his
Cathedral

Recently, my younger brother Animesh was travelling to Spain
with his friends, he came across this amazing person and his creation of life
time. His experience of meeting with Don Justo left a great impression on him and his thoughts, which I
am using to write this story with bits and pieces from a BBC news coverage done
by Sarah Rainsford,
to fill the gaps... click here to read the
full post

This is a story of a man, who was called crazy and insulted
for doing an act of faith - all his life.

60
years ago, Don Justo decided to build cathedral out of junk, with no training
and just on absolute faith, all by himself. He had no training whatsoever in
building construction or even brick laying but went on his mission of making
his dream come true. Every morning, he will start collecting used and broken
bricks, waste construction materials, oil drums etc from the nearby factories,
neighbourhood and then using them to build his Church, brick by brick, just on
absolute faith. He has, since then invested his entire life, all inheritance
in the project as well as the land on which this magnificent “act of faith
church” stands. Now he is 90 and still going strong as every morning at 6AM he
walks into the Church to work as well as giving guided tour to a steady trickle
of visitors who are making this DIY church, a little famous around the world.

A
simple man at heart Don Justo kept on referring Animesh, as brother, all the
time and said he loved people from India. He has special memories about Indira
Gandhi and remembered to comment on her son Rajiv Gandhi and his wife Sonia
Gandhi’s love story.

Talking
about his influences for starting the epic journey, he said he just felt like
doing it. He had paternal land and nothing else more urgent to do... so he
travelled around a lot and read about Cathedrals in Europe. Then went on
designing and constructing as and when materials and thoughts came to him! He
has never felt like stopping ever since and still comes daily, though his
output has slowed down over the period, but never stopped.

‘"Now everybody worships me. Before they said I was
crazy. Now I don't know what they say. But now, whoever comes here, since he or
she didn't realize why, has the opinion that this is art. It's me the one who
has to keep his feet on the ground and to measure everything with the same
weight." (Video Transcript - Thanks to Jacob Insua)

____________

So
far, the town council has tolerated the illicit structure, which lures a steady
trickle of visitors to the nondescript suburb. Some suspect the
chaotically-constructed church will not outlast its creator.

"It's
very difficult to get a license now," says Pablo Queralto, an architect
working for Mejorada council. "For example the bricks don't meet minimum
standards, either in themselves or the way they've been laid." But he
described the eccentric edifice as an icon of the town now, unlikely to be torn
down.

Is there any motivating factor in our
life as powerful as Don Justo’s, which will keep us going, brick by single
brick creating something that will be there forever, long after we have left, as
his work will? Are we still passionate about something in our life?

One of the great Indian philosopher J Krishnamurti said, ‘Passion, as
state of mind, is a state of being, your inner self, that feels very strongly,
highly sensitive – sensitive alike to dirt, squalor, poverty, riches; to the
beauty of a tree, a bird, to the flow of water... To feel all this intensely,
strongly, passion is necessary. Because without passion life becomes empty,
shallow, and without much meaning. If you cannot see the beauty of a tree and
love that tree, if you cannot care for it intensely, you are not living.”

So what is the purpose of your life?

Here is another beautiful talk (Shared by my brother Animesh again), which
I think you should read too, as that post is complimentary to this one here....

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Writes Poetry, Haiku, Spiritual Fiction, most of the times about Spiritual and blissful living. He enjoys spiritual journeys across India / High on Himalayas or floating below in depths Ganges, on a self-exploration trip, all the while trying to work out that elusive enlightenment, which every one talks about but, most of the times, don't find.

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MY BOOK - 1 OF 'THE MONK KEY' 3 PART SERIES

Songs of the Mist

SONGS OF THE MIST - An Introduction

"Many of us here yearn for something more in our life. Shashi has provided a spiritual release in his beautiful book, "Songs of the Mist". It’s unusual and thought provoking book. The book answers questions that we struggle to frame in our daily lives. Shashi’s descriptive beauty of the mystic nature of Himalayas interwoven with sufferings and the heartaches, and the struggle of each protagonist, provide eloquent and thought provoking read. Not a book to be browsed at glance and to reach books full potential demands commitment and investment of time to savor its subtlety and do grows." - Timeri N Murari (Famous Author, Script Writer and Journalist) speaking about “Songs of the Mist” at an evening of Art, Music and Writing organised by Apparao Galleries at The Hotel Leela Palace